John, Awesome project, I hope you are doing well and things are coming along as planned.

Can you give a little detail about your table frame here. 2x10", 4x4", 2x4" scraps. It looks like you screwed the wood together I'm sure after pre-drilling for the Bolts and also see a few screws on the 2x4's. You said you were going to take the table apart after you finished the project, so no glue was used I'm sure.

What is great about this site is that you can zoom in on these photos. I can see you have used one of the Epoxy Floor Coating Systems like http://www.floorchips.com Was your floor finished smooth or did it have brush strokes in it initially?

Thanks for your time. Keep up the great work.

Sparkie Waller
Quinton Alabama

The frame was a 2"x12" - left over from when I was framing the ceiling of the shop. The "4x4's" are actually chunks of PSL beam left over from the overhead door headers. I ripped the PSL down to size with a circular saw. The 2x4's were left over from the blocking I did in the ceiling and walls - I used OSB for the interior walls and ceiling and had to block all edges to make them sit flat. Correct - no glue. I plan on breaking it down and throwing the pieces back up in the attic for future projects when I finish assembling the cabinetry.

This is actually the 2nd epoxy job I did on the floor. I did the 1st job just after I moved in and used some chemical based epoxy from Devoe Coatings, a division of ICI paints. The product was good, but I made some mistakes when applying it. It was really too humid of a day to be putting epoxy down, and as a result, the finish was poor and didn't have good adhesion to the concrete. I also used floor paint chips on the 1st coating job, and found out later that using a ceiling texture hopper gun was really the only good way to get even dispersal (throwing by hand makes for a very uneven look to the chips.) It was also a pain in the butt to try to find dropped screws and stuff with all the paint flecks on the floor, so I decided to go with a straight color this time. After sanding down the black epoxy I had originally, I primed the floor with some light gray epoxy, and then finished with the darker gray Urethane Epoxy finish coat. Both of these products were from an industrial coatings company near Houston called American Coatings. They were about 1/2 the price of the water based stuff from Home Depot, and they were 2-part chemical based, so a pretty good deal all around. I used a low-lint paint roller to apply the epoxy, so no brush strokes. I believe some folks also use squeegees to spread it. There is some 100% solids epoxy solutions that self level as well and provide a thick, shiny finish. Kinda expensive stuff though, even at American Coatings.

If I had to do it again though, I actually think I would just purchase a tile system from Racedeck or Swissdeck. No epoxy peal-up issues, cooler design possiblities, and a whole lot less work to install. The initial cost is more, but I imagine they are a whole lot easier to repair - just pop a bad tile out and put a new tile in...

-John

How about the surface of the floor smooth or brushed?

You have a very large area, how did you put the chips down, a section at a time?

I'm in the process of making a table inspired by you. I really do have some old lumber I am using, I will have to buy the MDF for the top. I'm just trying to get organized in my shop. I just got all my tools up here from Spanish Fort, Alabama and there is no shelves, cabinets and two very poorly made work benches that are made for someone 6'3" and I'm 5'8". Once the table is completed, hopefully tomorrow, after a run to get some bolt and MDF, I am going to start on the shop cabinet. I'm going to do a before and after spread when as I go along on the cabinets. I'm not up to your level of craftsmanship but this is my first attempt at a large volume of cabinet. I want to redo my kitchen by spring is everything goes well.

Thanks for all the detail, I am going to look up the flooring on the Racedeck or Swiss deck sites.

Thanks Again,
Sparkie Waller